The senior wide receiver and safety intercepted a fourth-quarter pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown to lead Freedom High School's football team to a 14-7 Lehigh Valley Conference victory over Central Catholic at J. Birney Crum Stadium.

The pick-six was O'Donnell's second interception of the game. He also caught four passes for 37 yards.

The game was tied 7-7 early in the fourth quarter when Central Catholic (1-1 overall, 0-1 LVC) had a first-and-10 on its 26-yard line. Vikings quarterback Mason Kholi attempted a pass that was picked off by O'Donnell, who sprinted the other way into the end zone to give Freedom (1-1, 1-0) the lead.

"I just saw the (receiver) run an out route and I played back," O'Donnell said. "I got a good jump on the ball and got in front of it. My corner (Kylon Pretty) made a good block to help me get in the end zone. That was a big moment, definitely."

Central Catholic had the ball four more times, but its deepest penetration was to its 48 with under eight minutes remaining. On third-and-5, Patriots defensive end Cordell Cotto sacked Kholi for a 12-yard loss to force a punt.

"(Defensive coordinator) Greg Moore did a great job getting our guys ready to play four quarters," Freedom coach Jason Roeder said. "At halftime we challenged them to play at a higher level of intensity, and I think they did that."

Freedom's defense held the Vikings to three first downs in the second half.

"Our defense is good," O'Donnell said. "We played tough. We had 11 hats flying around the ball."

One of the keys for Freedom was the running of sophomore Roberto Diez, who plugged his way to 119 yards on 25 carries. Diez suffered an undisclosed injury during the Patriots' first scrimmage and had played sparingly until Saturday.

"To be honest, he's still a little hobbled," Roeder said. "For a sophomore to play like that on a bad wheel ... There's good things ahead for him."

Central Catholic took a 7-0 lead on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kholi to tight end Jack Nosovitch with 7:38 left in the first half.

Ryan Beville ignited the drive when he returned Jake Young's punt 25 yards to the Freedom 32. A defensive pass interference advanced the ball to the 17 before Kholi hit wideout Paul Leaser for six yards to the 11 to set up the TD.

Freedom got the equalizer with 6:45 left in the third quarter on a 35-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Jonah Gundrum to Pretty.

A fumble recovery by Patriots linebacker Bryant Connor set up the drive at Freedom's 40. Five plays later, the Patriots faced a third-and-5 at the Central 35. Gundrum threw a deep pass that Pretty corralled against double coverage, then broke free and ran the final 10 yards into the end zone to tie it.